On April 30, you published three letters about the organisation of the Sheffield Half Marathon, two of which were very complimentary and the other a bit critical, and the headline was "Half Marathon Headache."

What sort of thanks is that to the hundreds of volunteers who generously gave up their free time to act as marshalls or baggage handlers or to hand out drinks and sponges on a wet Sunday morning that was just about perfect for running, but can't have been a lot of fun for standing around in?

It's impossible to hold an event like this without some disruption to traffic, but there had been signs up for weeks beforehand in the areas that were going to be affected.

I've run in the Great North Run, which must involve far more road closures between Gateshead and South Shields, but I doubt if there is much agonising on Tyneside afterwards about the disruption.

Rather a celebration of a hugely popular event that runners love to take part in and which local people are proud to support.

Having taken part in the Sheffield Half Marathon in five out of the past six years, I think it too is a great event, albeit on a smaller scale, of which our city can be proud.

And, to all those wonderful, cheerful volunteers who make it such a brilliant experience for us runners, very many thanks.

Tony Willcock, Cobnar Road, Sheffield S8.



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